Gel electrophoresis is used extensively in the field of biotechnology to separate target biological macromolecules (biomolecules), such as DNA, RNA, or protein from a mixture of biomolecules. This analytical technique utilizes a gel matrix to separate target biomolecules for research, for preparative isolation and/or for quality testing. Target biomolecules are commonly removed from a gel polymer by extracting and processing particular sections of gel from the gel matrix. This invention provides a device for transferring a sample from the gel matrix to a container, such as an Eppendorf tube, for further processing.
The following references may relate to the technology disclosed herein: U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,990 to Camacho et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,728 to Kozulic; U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,926 to Bowersox et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,342,143 to Minden; U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,062 to Togawa, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,017 to Pinto et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,727 to Earle et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,591 to Gombocz et al. The present invention comprises a gel cutting extraction device capable of controlled one-handed cutting and simple removing of clean samples from a wide variety of electrophoretic gels.